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I think that attitude is definitely still around with hackers and enthusiasts but tech and programming as a job has expanded so much that it’s picked up anyone who wants a high paying job with little/less qualification. It’s become a means of rising out of poverty without having to spend thousands on school. I had a solid 7 year run as (mostly) a web dev and I was fully self taught so it was definitely the case for me

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Interestingly, I came from a very modest family (rural south, one parent was a teacher, the other disabled), so I never knew how expensive “city” life would be that most professionals aspire to. So I was mostly interested in interesting and meaningful work, and assumed literally any salary for a college graduate would be more than I ever need.

Wow was I wrong.

So current tech gens are making a killer salary as early and often as possible are making the wise choice. I do also thing the class of grads who used to go to investment banking and consulting now go to tech, and they were always “mercenaries”.

I think mercenary is a very apt word to use here. I think I’ll have to use it more often

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